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Jonh Locke's Social Contract
Furthermore, he contended, every society is based on a social contract—an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights -
French and Indian War
After six relatively peaceful years, the French–British conflict reignited. This conflict is known as the French and Indian War. -
Treaty of Paris 1763
Great Britain claimed Canada and virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi River. Britain also took Florida from Spain, which had allied itself with France. -
Proclamation of 1763
To avoid further costly conflicts with Native Americans, the British government prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. -
Sugar Act & colonists response
It halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in the hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling -
Stamp Act & colonists response
This act imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. -
Declaratory Act
But on the same day that it repealed the Stamp Act, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, which asserted Parliament’s full right “to bind the colonies andpeople of America in all cases whatsoever -
Writ of Assistance
The colonial assemblies declared that Parliament lacked the power to impose taxes on the colonies because the colonists were not represented in Parliament. -
Sons of Liberty is formed & Samuel Adams
Led by men such as Samuel Adams, one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists again boycotted British goods. -
Townshend Acts & colonists response
Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, named after Charles Townshend, the leading government minister. -
Boston Massacre
A mob gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard there. -
Tea Act
The act granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. -
Boston Tea Party
A large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
One law shut down Boston harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private
homes and other buildings. -
First Continental Congress meets
56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. -
Minutemen
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. -
Midnight riders: Revere, Dawes, Prescott
After a brief skirmish with minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to march back to Boston, but the march quickly became a slaughter -
Battle of Lexington
The Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the Revolutionary War, lasted only 15 minutes -
Battle of Concord
As they neared the town, they saw 70 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green. -
Second Continental Congress
The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. -
Continental Army
The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the advancing redcoats before finally retreating -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to “the former harmony” between Britain and the colonies -
Publication of Common Sense
stated that independence would give American colonists the chance to create a better society—one free from tyranny, with equal social and economic opportu-nities for all -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration states flatly that “all men are created equal." Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. July 4, 1776, they adopted the Declaration of
Independence. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists are those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king—included judges and governors, as well as people of more modest means.Patriots are the supporters of independence—drew their numbers from people
who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America -
Redcoats push Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
British sailed into New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with a force of about 32,000 soldiersThe British had pushed Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania.They then marched to their objective—Trenton, New Jersey—and defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. -
Washington’s Christmas night surprise attack
Washington risked everything on one bold stroke set for Christmas night, 1776. In the face of a fierce storm, he led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River. They defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. -
Saratoga
Burgoyne’s plan was to have his fellow British officers meet him. His plan failed because his fellow British officers were preoccupied with holding Philadelphia. American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga. -
French-American Alliance
Although the French had secretly aided the Patriots since early 1776, the Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief that the Americans could win the war. As a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army—desperately low on food and supplies—fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped to train the Continental Army. Marquis de Lafayette is a military leader. Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. -
British victories in the South
A British expedition easily took Savannah at the end of 1778. The British general then chose to move the fight to Virginia. The British general led his army of 7,500 onto the peninsula between the James and York rivers and camped at Yorktown -
British surrender at Yorktown
Less than a month later, on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis finally surrendered. A French naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby obstructing British sea routes to the bay -
Treaty of Paris
The delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation.